Cell testing apparatus



Feb. 6, 1951 A. M. WENGEL ET AL CELL TESTING APPARATUS Filed April 13, 1945 Patented Feb.k 6, 1951 CELL TESTING APPARATUS Arthur M. Wengel, Blooming Grove, and Lloyd Stanley Sadler, Madison, Wis., assignors to Ray-O-Vac Company, a corporation of Wisconsin Application April 13, 1945, Serial No. 588,232

This invention relates to a cell testing method and apparatus, and moreparticularly to improved means for eiecting certain tests of a dry cell with great rapidity.

; lOne feature of this invention is that it provides means for accuratelyand quickly effecting voltagetests of a cell by balancing the cell voltage against an appropriate pilot voltage and using any resultant differential voltage to actuate an amplifier which in turn actuates appropriate rejecting mechanism. This enables `cells to be tested under both open and closed voltage positions without the delay incident to movement of mechanical meter movements, and with sa high degree of accuracy as to within limits of .O02 voltA `Another feature of this invention is that it provides means for making both open and closed circuit test of a cell, as a flashlight dry cell, in quick succession; and yet another feature of this invention is that it is adapted to sort cells, lrejecting cells -above a certain desired maximum voltage in one direction, rejecting cells below a desired minimum voltage in another direction, and passing cells within the range between such minimum and maximum voltages. Other features and advantages of this invention ywill be apparent from the following specication and the drawing', which comprises a diagrammatic representation, partly schematic and partly in circuit diagram form, of one embodiment of our invention.

Automatic cell testing equipment with which we are familiar has in the past made use of meter movements to indicate the open circuit voltage of` the` cell under test, and the closed circuitvvoltmechanical movement lwherein mechanical inertia must be overcome, and this movement requires relatively appreciable time delays if the sorting is to be accurately accomplished.

We have devised and are here disclosing and claiming a cell testing arrangement which overcomes these and other disadvantages of previous automatircf'cell testing equipment. In our arrangement the cell condition being used in the' particulartest, as for exampleopen circuit" valt- 2 claims. (01.209-81)Y age, is balanced against a ypredetermined oppos-v 1ng or bucking` pilot voltage throughan indi-- If the two` eating voltage developing resistor. voltages are exactly equal no voltage is developed across the resistor, of course; if the cell voltage is higher than the pilot voltage, an indicating-- voltage is developed across the resistor withY ai certain polarity; and if the pilot voltage is higherE than the cell voltage, an 'indicating voltage isf developed across -the -resistor in the opposite polarity. This indicating voltage is then applied to the input of apush-pull ampliiier, preferably'v of the direct coupled type, so that the output ofthe -amplier is both in direction and amplitude determined by the indicating voltage supplied to the input. This output of the amplier may then'` be automatically separated and supplied to one or the other of two circuit paths in accordance with its polarity or direction (as by the use of rectiers in such circuitv paths passing the current through one circuit path if it has one polarity and through the yother circuit pathv if it has the opposite polarity); and the amplitude de-v termines whether or not rejecting mechanism for over-voltage or under-voltage is actuated. y

Referring now more particularly `to the specific embodiment of our invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, the cell under test, identied as I0, is adapted to be moved into test position and brought automatically intocontact with cell contacting elements Il and l2 by means which are well known in the art and Iwhich are not illustrated here, inasmuch as they form no* part of the present invention. Two sources YofV pilot voltages are provided, these being hereindicated in general as I3 andl i4, respectively. While,- any :appropriate source of a predetermined 'ac-ivA curately calibrated pilot voltage may be used, we4 are illustrating the pilot voltage sources as: a; couple of standard 1cells in series and developing` `a voltage drop across bleeder resistors, as forj 'tact or potentiometer arm` |30. lThe arrange-Q.

ment of the other pilot voltage source isjidentical, and accordingly will not be separately de-';

scribed.

Either of thesevpilctvoltage sources I3 and .IQ is adapted to be connected in a series circuit with `Ithe cellll and an indicating voltage resistor I S', f the pol'ar'ities'ofthe"voltages being so arranged that they buck each other in this series circuit, and any voltage drop across the resistor I has an amplitude dependent upon the difference between the cell and pilot voltage, and a polarity depending upon which exceeds the other. The indicating voltage existing across the resistor I5 is passed* down through a pairoir Wires Illia and.v 16h and' through a circuit closing arrangement comprising a normally open double pole relay here identified in general as Il, When the corr.- tacts of this relay are closed the indicating volt-4 age developed across the resistor I5V is supplied to the input of a direct current. push-pulll ampli-- er I8. This amplier is noli illustrated inzdetail here, as any suitable amplierxofxtlrepush-pnll type may be used. The preferred amplifier which we have developed for this cell. testing isiully illustrated and described in the copend'i'ng application of Lloyd Stanley Sadler, Serial No..558,865,. led October 21, 1944, now abandoned. If the output, ot this.- push-pullV direct. current. amplifler. t8.rhas. one. polarity it. actuates a, relay LSI controlling onerejecting; arrangement, which. may be; oil a; conventional solenoidv operated'. type adapted to knock. the cell out of. lineetofone side.; andziflthe polarity of thee amplifier output is in; the.- oppositev direction,l the other relay 270 is. ac-v tuatedto operate another reiecting; mechanism. which may throw the: cell. out. tor the; other side. of: the line. or conveyor. While anyi form of separating arrangementmay be used.- to=cause actuationloi one relaywhen.theoutputhas onepolarity andrei the. other relay whenY the output has the other polarity, the. particularl arrangement. usedxA ini thel above-mentioned copending Sadler. appli-V cation.. employs. oppositely arranged` rectiflers, so. that themelay- I9 actuatedwhenxtheupper output=terminal is positive, for example,.andthe relay zu is, actuated when. the lower output ter-A minal.isi-positive.`

In. theparticular embodiment of. our. invention which we arey illustrating here the pilot voltage provided bythe arrangement, I3, is-rst balanced. against. the cell Voltage, under what are termedv opencircuittest. conditions, with. no. load of any kind. upon: the cell: For. a. smallV flashlight cell, forV example, the particular, run. or group being. tested might. be. desired to. have. an open. circuit. voltage of 1.56-volts, and in such` case the pilot voltage. I3v would bev set at thisvalue.. It it werey desired toemploy` the maximum; sensitivity of the. apparatus, the amplifier might` be. so, adjusted. as to, provide just sufcientvoltage toactuate one. ot. the. relays t9 or 20. upon a. dlierence of .0Q2 volt. being applied to input.. In. such. case, cells over 1.562L volts would be sortedv or rejected into an over-voltage"`gronp;, cells. under. 1.558. volts, would be. sortedor rejected'z intoA an. under.- voltage;v group; andlcells between 1.5584 and,1.5.62 volts. would. be passed.. Normallyg. hovveyer,1 the sensitivity of the amplier Ittwouldbe so. related to=the current. required .to energize the relays. I.9 and that at least. one. or. two.- hundredths of. a volt. difference at'. the input. Wouldbe required to actuate, the. rejecting.v mechanism.. That in normal. operation. the apparatus might sort into an over-voltage.V group, cells. above 1.58 volts, sort into an. under-voltage. group. all. cells below 1.521- vo1ts,. and pass all cells between 17.54. and 1.58 volts.. ItlwilLbe. readily apparent that adjusting the median points is readily eiected by adjustment o the potentiometer in the Source ofv pilot voltage; and that. adjustmentY of the rejeccurrent required to actuate the relays I9 and 20.

In addition to the open circuit voltage test it is also desirable to effect a closed circuit test, the closed circuit test here being shown being a voltage test with the cell under predetermined load conditions. One standard procedure with a smaller-size flashlight cell, ior'example; is t0 test its closed circuit voltage when it'. has a 50 ohm load resistor connected in shunt with it, and that i'sthe closed circuit test which is illustrated here. The voltage across such a load would, of course, be different -from the open circuit voltage, and might for examplev be 1.48 volts. Accordingly,

.the potentiometer of the pilot voltage source I4 tion point. can be determined. by the relationship Abetween thegain eithe. ampl'er I8.. and the might be adjusted, in the particular example being described, so that the pilot voltage was 1.48 volts. To` make the closed circuit test, then, the cell would be put under the desired load and its voltage under the load condition opposed to this second pilot voltage, again across the indicating resistor.- It; so that the; differences' between; the celland: pilotv voltage in: this closed. circuit'. test. again result? in a diiierenceinf polarity'and. anr-v plitude to the input of the ampliei' It.. Itfhas beenA found; that. if; the predetermined desired load resistor aloneiszshunted. acrosszthe dryfcell it requires a substantial' period, in the neighbor-- hood of one to two'.- seconds or even more', for the closed; circuit voltage to stabilize itself at the'- proper'closed'circuitvalue; In order-to avoidthis. undesirable. delay in' testing, and' at: the same time. to avoid erratic or improper testing under' closedf circuit conditions, the standard load' resistor 2I" isz initially: shunted1 by alsecond load1 resistor' herel identied as. 22 for a very brief period, as onetenth second, and then this additional resistance is; removed from circuit and the` closed circuit voltage test made. This procedure results in stae bilization ofv the closed circuit voltage at" itsv properflevell in less than two-tenths of a` secondi, greatly speeding up the-process of closed circuit', testing; This improvement'will-not be more fully described herel as it formsv the subject matter'of' the copending applicationv of Arthur M. Wengel,

Serial' No. 584,921, iiled Marchy 26'; 1945, now abandoned.

Appropriate automatik: cell testing canbe effectedby any means first balancing the open circuit pilot-voltage against the open circuit' cell" voltage and using the indicating voltage' developed across the resistor I5 as a source of con'- trol voltage determining whether or not thereject mechanism is operative; and then by balancing the closed circuit pilot voltage. against` the' closed' circuit' voltage of the cell under. predeterminedv load' conditions (preferably stabilized; as described in the preceding paragrapihL and'V again using the indicating voltage developed across the resistor I5 to determine Whether the cell is4 sorted into a passing group, or an under.- voltage or over-voltage group; While this may be accomplished in any of a number of different; Ways, We are here showing an arrangement which: uses cam-actuated relays25 and 261 The relay 25 comprises a pair of normally open contacts 25a. and 25h adapted to be closed when the cam fol.- loWer 2T is.. on a high portion. (as illustrated) of. the cam 28;. When the relay contacts 25a. and. 25h are closed a circuit is completed from a power source here indicated as a battery 29' through the actuating. coil of the relay IT, to close the circuit. fromthe indicating resistor I5 to the input of the amplier I8, this. circuit. again. being opened-.by1

7.5 opening. ot the. contacts. 25a, and 251.1. attendre'- testing procedure is completed and before the cell Il] is removed. from the testing position.

The relay 26 is here shown as comprising what may be termed upper and lower sections. The upper section comprises the stationary contacts 29a and 2Gb, and the intermediate movable contact 26e. The lower section comprises a movable element 26d normally open and out of contact with its cooperating contact element 25e; and another movable contact member 251 normally in contact with its associated contact member 26g. The movable elements Zc and 29d are here shown as linked together and simultaneously movable by movement of a cam follower 39 in contact with various portions of the cam 3|, driven at a predetermined speed by any appropriate means, as a synchronous motor, and started in operation each time when a cell, as the cell ID, is in testing position. When the follower 3 is on the portion Sla of the cam surface the movable member 26e is in a middle position, out of contact with both of its cooperating contact members. When the follower 39 drops down into the cam section 31D, the movable element 26e comes into contact with the cooperating switch portion 2Gb, the contact members 25d and 26e being open at this time. This places the open circuit pilot voltage developed by the pilot voltage arrangement I3 in a series circuit with the cell I9 and the indicating resistor l5, with the cell and pilot voltages bucking each other, so that the input to the amplifier I8 is then indicative of open circuit test conditions. When the cam follower S9 reaches the cam section 3io, as shown in the drawing, the parts are in the position illustrated, the circuit through the resistor I5 being open and a preconditioning load comprising both the resistor 2| (which may be 50 ohms) and the resistor 22 (which may be l0 ohms) being applied to the cell. At the end of a time interval which We prefer to be in the neighborhood of a tenth of a second or slightly less, the cam follower Sil comes into contact with the cam section 3 ld, and this opens contact between the switch elements 261 and 26g, the switch elements 26o and 29a still remaining out of contact. This results in removal of the preconditioning resistor 22 from the circuit, leaving only the predetermined load resistor 2l shuntedacross the cell l0. The length of the cam section 31d is such, in relation to the rate of cam rotation, that this condition continues for about .l second to stabilize the closed circuit voltage, then the cam follower rises onto cam section 31e and, by closing the contacts 29a and 25e, closes a series circuit including the closed circuit voltage from the pilot voltage source It. The resultant indicatingvoltage developed across the resistor I5 then actuates the ampliiier i8 and determines the sorting action of the rejecting mechanism. If desired, an additional contact on the relay II may be used in the wire leading to prior to the open circuit test, if the cams 28 and 3l should preferably be so'related that the relay Il' does not close until a few degrees after the olloiwer 39 has dropped on down to the cam section 3 b.

While we have shown and described certain embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modiiications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a cell testing system including sorting means, apparatus of the character described, including: means providing a iirst pilot Voltage; means for comparing the voltage of the cell under test with the rst pilot voltage; means providing a second pilot voltage; a predetermined load; means for connecting the load to the cell and comparing its voltage under load with the second pilot voltage; and means for operating the sorting means in accordance with the difference between the cell and pilot voltages in each case.

2. Voltage measuring apparatus for the control of voltaic cell sorting mechanism, comprising contact elements adapted to contact the terminals of a cell, a measuring resistor connected to one of said contact elements, a first source of pilot voltage, a second source of pilot voltage, switch mechanism for successively connecting said sources in series with said contact elements and said measuring resistor, means controlled by said switch mechanism for connecting a load resistor across said contacts concomitantly with the connection of one of said sources to said contact elements and said resistor, an amplifier connected across said measuring resistor, and means for connecting the output of said amplier to a cell sorting mechanism to be controlled thereby.

ARTHUR M. WENGEL.

LLOYD STANLEY SADLER.

REFERENCES CITED YyThe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Publication by L. Podolsky in Electronics, July 1933, pages 180, 181, copy in Scientiic Library. 

